The Friend is a weekly magazine in which Friends speak to each other and to the wider world, offering their insight, ideas, news, nurture and inspiration.
Nurturing Quaker community, each issue offers a space for Friends to share their concerns, and to support each other in faith and witness.
The Friend: enriching, inspiring and connecting the Quaker community since 1843.
With Christmas approaching, we are all going to be spending time with people we don’t see frequently. Maybe, like me, you are dreading somebody mentioning that they are considering voting for Reform, or repeating some of the divisive rhetoric that is in the air.
In view of the harm done by the use of alcohol, tobacco and other habit-forming drugs, consider whether you should limit your use of them or refrain from using them altogether. Remember that any use of alcohol or drugs may impair judgment and put both the user and others in danger’ (Advices & queries 40).
This autumn has seen an inspiring wave of vegan Green Feast events across Britain Yearly Meeting. These have been organised by Quaker Vegan Witness to demonstrate how vegan practices can become a vital expression of Quaker witness. From intimate breakfast gatherings to vibrant open afternoons, the events have shown that the commitment to planetary stewardship and compassionate living resonate deeply within our Meetings.
Over 100 Friends met for an important November event. There have been discussions and discernments about reorganising our structures for many years. Can we make them more sustainable and release more creativity? Or are there other ways of improving the use of our resources? The initial proposal was that all four Area Meetings (AMs) here should join with General Meeting to form one unified body.
You wait twenty years for an opportunity to visit Pendle Hill, and then two come along at once!
Friends World Committee for Consultation recently issued a statement about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is useful, but I was surprised to find no reference to the machines which can themselves design, build and programme the next generation of still more complex intelligences – sometimes called Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI).
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Whether you are new to Quakerism or have been going to Meeting for years, you’ll find something here to inspire, inform and challenge you.
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Written by and for Friends on the bench
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